HOW TO BECOME A WEB DEVELOPER (2024 Guide)

Web Developer Resume Examples

BrainStation’s Web Developer career guide is intended to help you take the first steps toward a lucrative career in web development. Read on to learn how to write a great resume for Web Developer jobs.

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North America is currently facing a shortage of skilled tech talent and few positions are in hotter demand than a Web Developer. There is also no sign demand will wane. The expansion of e-commerce and an ever-increasing reliance on mobile search will only create further need for talented Developers.

According to Stack Overflow, 83 percent of professional Web Developers in the United States are employed full-time, with another 10 percent working on a freelance basis or part-time.

With this much demand in a growing job market, you might be thinking that companies and organizations are desperate for a Web Developer. Why would you need a resume?

But there are plenty of freelancers with ranging experience from full-stack to front-end, entry-level to senior Web Developers that have excellent technical abilities. Hiring managers are looking for something more than the ability to finish a task.

So how do you prove your talent to secure your dream job as a web developer? How do you demonstrate that you are the best candidate for the position over other job seekers with similar technical skills?

That’s where the Web Developer resume comes in.

What Are Web Developer Resumes?

Web Developer resumes are concise documents that summarize the skills and career highlights of a Web Developer. Web Developers are in high demand, but they still need to show employers that they have the right skills to excel in a position.

In a Web Developer resume, a job candidate should highlight their technical abilities, work and educational experience, and major achievements. Resumes also need to show how a job candidate can help a company achieve its goals.

Web Developer Resumes – a Step by Step Guide

To create a successful Web Developer resume, you first need to do some planning. Take these steps to prepare.

Review the Job Description

Each resume should be tailored to the job you are applying for. The skills and requirements of a position will dictate what you include in your resume. Highlight key skills and verb phrases in the job description and emphasize these on your resume.

Some companies use resume software for initial screenings called an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) before a hiring manager even looks at the resume. Make note of which words and phrases are used most often in the job description and include those terms in your resume. While you do not want to sound too repetitive, make sure that your resume passes their minimum requirements and lands in the hands of a human.

Get to Know the Company

Hiring Managers and Recruiters could be going through hundreds of resumes from job hunting Web Developers. You want to make your resume stand out. The more you know about a company, the easier it will be to customize your resume to fit their needs. Take a look at their website, social media, blog posts, and past work.

Companies have different goals and business models; therefore, companies also have different expectations from their website. Familiarizing yourself with the current function of the company’s website and competitors’ websites will allow you to reference specific examples in an interview and demonstrate proactive behavior.

Create a Master Resume

A master resume is a comprehensive list of all your work experiences, education, skills, projects, and achievements. After you have this list, treat this resume as your professional database and refer to it as you apply for different web development positions. Select the achievements from your master resume that are most relevant to the specific position.

Different web development positions include:

  • Full-stack
  • Back-end
  • Front-end
  • Web design

As you gain years of experience and become an experienced Web Developer, you will be able to curate the work that best reflects what a Hiring Manager has included in the job description on each tailored resume you build.

Once you have finished planning, you’re ready to move on to drafting your Web Developer resume. As you write your resume, keep these best practices in mind.

  • Less is more. Don’t overload your resume with every experience. Keep it simple and concise. Focus on your most relevant and important achievements. Web Developer resumes should ideally be one page in length.
  • Customize each resume. Generic resumes will make less of an impact. Show precisely how your skills and experiences match the position you are applying for. This will help you stand out and increase your chances of landing an interview.
  • Structure your content. Use sections with clear headings to organize your resume content. Bullet points also make content easier to read.
  • Choose a clean resume design. The design of your resume should be simple and clean. Stick with one or two fonts and have ample white space so employers can easily skim through your content.
  • Make an impact with strong action verbs. When writing about your achievements, choose meaningful actions verbs that explain the contributions you made to a project or team. Some examples include led, initiated, accelerated, expanded and increased.
  • Quantify your accomplishments. Where possible, use numbers to show the scale and impact of your work and success. Numbers add credibility, and they showcase your proven success as a Web Developer. If you cannot quantify an achievement, describe the success and impact however possible.
  • Write strong accomplishment statements. Accomplishment statements for resumes follow this formula: action verb + task + result. They are a good way of demonstrating your achievements. For example, “Led the redevelopment of mobile app resulting in a 27 percent increase to client’s sales.”
  • Edit and review. Errors and typos leave a bad impression, and in some cases, your application may be instantly rejected. Before submitting your resume, double-check spelling and grammar.

Getting Started – What Is the Purpose of the Resume?

The resume is a way to pitch your skills and experience to an employer. Your Web Developer resume should tell a story. Through reading about your achievements and experiences, an employer should get a sense of what you can bring to their team. A strong resume can help you secure an interview. The resume also showcases your communication skills, which are essential for a Web Developer.

How to Create an Outline for a Web Developer Resume

Generally, this is the outline you should follow for your Web Developer resume:

  • Header. Include your full name, email address, phone number, LinkedIn and portfolio.
  • Profile/Summary. Include a brief statement that highlights your key skills and achievements.
  • Work Experience. Include relevant web development experience.
  • Projects. Highlight relevant web development projects.
  • Skills. List your technical skills, including programming languages and tools.
  • Education/Certification. Include the school or organization and the degree or certificate you received.
  • Other Sections. Showcase extra accomplishments and activities that make you stand out.

What to Include in Your Web Developer Resume

In your Web Developer resume, include a profile, an overview of your web development experience, a list of your education and skills, and highlights of awards or other activities.

  • Profile/Summary. In two to four sentences, provide a snapshot of your achievements. This should hook the reader. Explain why you are a great fit for the company. Keep in mind that some job postings won’t ask for a cover letter, so a strong profile can help tell your story.
  • Web development experience. List your most recent and relevant professional experience in reverse chronological order. For each entry, include the job title, company, dates and location. Write two to three bullet points for each experience (or a maximum of four). Focus on your achievements rather than your daily tasks. An example of a task is, “Fixed bugs on company website”. To reframe it as an achievement, you could write, “Fixed bugs on company website, significantly improving web functionality and speed”.
  • Education. List your university/college education, as well as any diplomas or certificates received through other training. Include the degree/certificate, university/organization name, dates and academic achievements, such as honors or scholarships.
  • Skills. Web development is a highly technical profession, so employers want someone with the right expertise. List your strongest technical skills, including programming languages, that are relevant to the position.
  • Projects. Projects are a great way of showing your work and passions. Include the project name, a link, your role and a brief description.
  • Other. This section can include awards, activities, badges and interests. Showcase your passion and commitment to web development.

What Skills Should You Add to a Web Developer Resume?

Your Web Developer resume should list technical skills and programming languages that match the job description. The most common skills required in a Web Developer position are advanced knowledge of HTML and CSS. However, the required skills will vary based on the position.

Some examples of skills that you may want to include in your Web Developer resume are:

Technical Skills for Web Development

  • Git
  • Wireframing
  • DNS management
  • Testing, debugging
  • Front-end frameworks
  • Responsive design
  • User experience
  • User interface
  • Document object model
  • APIs
  • Jest
  • Enzyme

Popular Programming Languages

  • HTML
  • CSS
  • JavaScript
  • jQuery
  • PHP
  • SQL
  • Ruby
  • CSS
  • C++
  • Java
  • Python
  • HTML5

An experienced Web Developer is constantly learning new tools and languages to stay current with industry trends. One area to stand out from the other Developers that have similar levels of technical expertise is through your soft skills. Hiring Managers and Technical Recruiters often have a roster of freelancers that they are able to use to get projects done.

If they are looking to bring people onto their staff, they are looking for people that are able to communicate with clients or stakeholders, have leadership abilities, and potentially managerial goals.

When it comes to soft skills on your resume, demonstrate them by incorporating them into your accomplishment statements or in results rather than only listing them. This will put the skills into context, much like your portfolio showcases your technical abilities.

Soft Skills for Web Development

  • Communication
  • Adaptability
  • Visual thinking
  • Collaboration
  • Creativity
  • Enthusiasm
  • Leadership
  • Negotiation
  • Patience
  • Time management

Web Developer Resume Templates

NAME Phone Number Email LinkedIn Portfolio

PROFILE

Dedicated Web Developer experienced in [top skills]. Developed a [major web development accomplishment or project]. Enthusiastic about [web development interests].

EXPERIENCE

Job title, Company Month, Year – Month, Year

  • [Action word] [skill/task] [result/impact]
  • [Action word] [skill/task] [result/impact]
  • [Action word] [skill/task] [result/impact]

Job title, Company Month, Year – Month, Year

  • [Action word] [skill/task] [result/impact]
  • [Action word] [skill/task] [result/impact]
  • [Action word] [skill/task] [result/impact]

EDUCATION

Degree or certificate earned, School name Graduation date

  • [Relevant courses]
  • [Academic achievements]

SKILLS

  • [Technical skills]
  • [Programming languages]

PROJECTS

Project, Role

  • Brief description of project

AWARDS AND ACTIVITIES

  • [Award]
  • [Volunteer]
  • [Conference]

Key Web Developer Resume Takeaways

As a Web Developer, you are responsible for both the functionality and the final presentation of a website. Websites are never finished, and neither is a resume. There will always be something to tweak or improve as trends change and new technologies emerge.

Think of your resume like you would a website. The Hiring Manager is the user that has come to your website to find a solution that solves their problem. In this case, you are the solution to their problem of an open position at their company.

Make sure your resume includes the relevant information that a person would expect to find on a resume. Present the information so that someone with minimal technical experience can still understand why you are a good candidate for the job. Identify possible bugs before setting your resume live by sending your resume to peers for feedback.

If you build your resume like you would build a website, and bring the same level of detail and passion, you will put yourself in a great position to create a stand-out resume and cover letter package.

Review the following before submitting your resume:

  • Research the company, the role, and relevant web development skills
  • Reference Developer resume examples and to build a resume outline
  • Add relevant education experience, work experience, and development projects
  • Highlight experience with key web development tools and programming languages
  • Craft concise bullet points using the action verb + task + result format for each experience, emphasizing data-driven successes
  • Have a trusted peer proofread your Web Developer resume for grammar and spelling to make sure your experience is professionally presented

Many Web Developers will have similar qualifications. Ensuring your resume includes must-know technical skills, examples of soft skills, and is presented in a user-friendly format will help any Hiring Manager see the value you could bring to their company.

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